'aurichloride' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'aurichloridum', where 'aur-' (from Latin 'aurum') meant 'gold' and 'chlor-' (from Greek 'khlōros') referred to 'green' and by extension to 'chlorine' in chemical usage.

'aurichloride' developed from the Neo-Latin chemical formation 'aurichloridum' and was used in 18th–19th century chemical literature; it corresponds to or has been replaced in modern usage by the term 'auric chloride' (gold(III) chloride, AuCl3).

Initially it referred generally to a chloride compound of gold; over time it has come to be used more specifically for gold(III) chloride (AuCl3) or has been replaced by the more systematic name 'auric chloride'.